Ground Equipment Facility QRC (FUDS C03PA046300: "Benton Air Force Communications Annex") is an FAA radar station that was part of a Cold War SAGE radar station (Benton Air Force Station, call sign: Oppose) for aircraft control and warning "from Massachusetts to southern Virginia, and as far out to sea as possible." Benton AFS was also the first operational "regional data processing center" for the GE 477L Nuclear Detection and Reporting System. The FAA facility and the larger area of the former Air Force Station are part of Ricketts Glen State Park. History The 648th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was activated on 30 April 1948 at Pine Camp, New York (which became operational June 1950 as the 655th AC&WS's Lashup station L-6. The 648th AC&WS transferred in December 1949 to Indiantown Gap Army Installation (AIN) and began operations at the initial site with a General Electric AN/CPS-6B radar scanner. Site construction on had begun in 1950 and was completed September 21, 1951. On September 21, 1951, the last of the 658th personnel arrived at the site from Fort Indiantown Gap. The radar and operations moved to Ricketts Glen State Park, Pennsylvania, by 1 February 1952. Benton Air Force Station On 1 December 1953, the radar station at Ricketts Glen State Park was designated Benton Air Force Station which initially provided tracking data to a Manual Air Defense Control Center, e.g., on August 15, 1958, the 26th Air Division/Syracuse Air Defense Sector's "Combat Alert Center (Manual)" at Roslyn AFS began using Benton data for manual GCI. But in less than two months, the "manual division" headquarters at Hancock Field/Syracuse AFS was eliminated--"the 26th was moved out of Roslyn and established at Syracuse as a [computerized] SAGE division on 1 September" 1958. But [the Syracuse DC with AN/FSQ-7] did not become operational until 1 January 1959" (cf. the Office of Civil Defense and Mobilization warning center at Stewart AFB—1 of 3 for national civil defense—was moved to Syracuse and redesignated the "OCDM 26th Warning Center" on 1 July 1959). On 1 July 1959, concurrent with the discontinuance of Eastern NORAD Region, the warning center was moved from Stewart AFB, New York, to Syracuse, New York, and redesignated the OCDM 26th Warning Center.''" Benton's data was initially entered in the "Manual Inputs" terminals of the Syracuse's SAGE Direction Center. A Burroughs AN/FST-2 Coordinate Data Transmitting Set was installed early in 1960 to transmit